EPISODE 28 : HOW TO TRANSFORM PTSD INTO POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH WITH JEN CUI

EPISODE 28 : HOW TO TRANSFORM PTSD INTO POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH WITH JEN CUI

* Please Note - Some links in this post may be affiliate links *

Hello Friends and welcome back to the Is That Soh Podcast!

Today on the podcast I have invited holistic health coach and certified personal trainer Jen Cui to come on the show and teach us how we can transform PTSD into Post Traumatic Growth

For over 6 years, Jen suffered from depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, disordered eating, and post-traumatic stress. After traditional medicine and therapies failed to treat her symptoms, Jen made the pivotal choice to embark on a self-healing journey to strengthen her mental health and build a positive relationship with her body. Now, she is thriving in her wellness and helping others do the same.

As the founder of Jen Cui Health, Jen’s mission is to empower people to live a healthy lifestyle that is authentic to them. She has helped hundreds of women and men reclaim their lives and bodies through invigorating live workouts as well as her signature “Find Your Freedom” mindfulness-based 12-week coaching program.

Today on the podcast we are going to be talking about Neuro-Linguistic Programming, psychology​ ​Martin Seligman’s​ 3 P’s to setback recovery, and Psychologist​ ​Carol Dweck​’s 4 Q’s to effectively respond to challenging situations or emotions.

To learn more about Jen’s #My2021 Self-Care Pledge & 6-week Challenge (take the pledge to prioritize your wellness this year and have a chance to win a coaching session with me) - CLICK HERE

To join one of Jen’s Live Weekday Workouts, visit jencui.com/workshops

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did! Feel free to leave your thought below!

Also, special thanks to Mattias Friberg for composing the music for this podcast and perfecting my sound!

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- ADDITIONAL RESOURCES -

The Things you Can See Only When You Slow Down is a bestselling mindfulness guide by Haemin Sunim (which means “spontaneous wisdom”), a renowned Buddhist meditation teacher born in Korea and educated in the United States, illuminates a path to inner peace and balance amid the overwhelming demands of everyday life.

When it was first published, Intuitive Eating was revolutionary in its anti-dieting approach. The authors, both prominent health professionals in the field of nutrition and eating disorders, urge readers to embrace the goal of developing body positivity and reconnecting with one’s internal wisdom about eating―to unlearn everything they were taught about calorie-counting and other aspects of diet culture and to learn about the harm of weight stigma.

In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

In this beautiful follow-up to his international bestseller The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, Zen Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim turns his trademark wisdom to the art of self-care, arguing that only by accepting yourself--and the flaws that make you who you are--can you have compassionate and fulfilling relationships with your partner, your family, and your friends. With more than thirty-five full-color illustrations, Love For Imperfect Things will appeal to both your eyes and your heart, and help you learn to love yourself, your life, and everyone in it.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans have been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

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- Where To Find Jen Online -

INSTAGRAM ▶ @JenCuiHealth
WEBSITE ▶ www.jencuihealth.com
FACEBOOK ▶ JenCuiHealth

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EPISODE 16: #BLACKLIVESMATTER, WHITE PRIVILEGE AND HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY WITH SARAFINA ARTHUR WILLIAMS

EPISODE 16: #BLACKLIVESMATTER, WHITE PRIVILEGE AND HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY WITH SARAFINA ARTHUR WILLIAMS 

Hello Friends and welcome back to the Is That Soh Podcast!

Today on the podcast I have invited wellness psychologist and founder of Intentional Simplicity, Sarafina Arthur Williams to come on and educate us on the state of mental health in the BIPOC community, what white privilege is and how we can use it to help people of colour by being better allies.

The reason why I ask Sarafina to come on the show was because, even prior to the Black Lives Matter Protest this past summer and the death of George Floyd, I had listened to one or two conversations around white privilege and how to have conversations with people in marginalized groups about race, but it wasn’t until I sat back, muted myself and actively started to listen, that I notice how ignorant I was to ‘the black experience’, their history of oppression and injustice, and the place they hold on social media.

As someone who has black friends and even black relatives, I admit I have never tried to have conversations with them around race but this experience made me realize that maybe I should.

Even after examining my own social media feed, which was filled with predominant white faces it also made me ask myself, ‘How I expect to learn more about people in marginalized groups if I don’t show interest in people’s experiences that are different then my own.’

Further, since I have a particular interest in mental health, it worried me how, with all that is going on in the world, the BIPOC community is doing in terms of taking care of their mental health and if they are even able to get the help they need because:
1) you usually have to pay out of pocket for anything mental health related which can be a deterrent or barrier to seeking help and,
2) less than 2 % of mental health care practitioners are Black or African American and how can you expect those who need help to get proper help when those available to give it aren’t culturally competent enough to treat and understand specific issues as they relate to the black experience.

And so that is why I wanted Sarafina to come on and talk with us, because not only has she lived the black experience but she is a masters level psychologist who can relay her first hand insights and experience of growing up in the black community along with knowledge on the state of it’s mental health.

Sarafina Arthur-Williams is the CEO and founder of Intentional Simplicity LLC, a wellness-based mental health private practice. As a wellness psychologist and creative consultant, she educates her clients and mental health practitioners about positive psychology, art therapy, and the value of wellness and mindfulness. She is ranked on Feedspot’s top psychology bloggers of 2020 and features as a guest speaker on a variety of mental health platforms. To encourage sustainability, Sarafina documents how she practices wellness in her daily life through her online presence.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did! Feel free to leave your thought below!

Also, special thanks to Mattias Friberg for composing the music for this podcast and perfecting my sound!

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- BIPOC Mental Health Statistics -

• Black and African American teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than White teenagers (9.8 percent v. 6.1 percent).

• 16% (4.8 million) of Black and African American people reported having a mental illness, and 22.4% (1.1 million people) reported a serious mental illness over the past year.

• Serious mental illness (SMI) rose among all ages of Black and African American people between 2008 and 2018.

• Binge drinking, smoking (cigarettes and marijuana), illicit drug use and prescription pain reliever misuse are more frequent among Black and African American adults with mental illnesses.

• Black and African American people are more often diagnosed with schizophrenia and less often diagnosed with mood disorders compared to white people with the same symptoms.
  Additionally, they are offered medication or therapy at the lower rates than the general population.

• Black and African American people are over-represented in our jails and prisons. Black and
  African American people make up 13 percent of the general U.S. population, but nearly 40 percent of the prison population. In 2016, the imprisonment rate for Black and African American men (2,417 per 100,000 Black male residents) was more than 6 times greater than that for white men (401 per 100,000 white male residents) and the imprisonment rate for Black and African American women (97 per 100,000 Black and African American female residents) was almost double that for white women (49 per 100,000 white female residents). [13] Black and African American people with mental health conditions, specifically those involving psychosis, are more likely to be in jail or prison than people of other races.

• Because less than 2 percent of American Psychological Association members are Black or African American

• 11.5 percent of Black and African Americans, versus 7.5 percent of white Americans were still uninsured in 2018.

• In 2018, 58.2 % of Black and African American young adults 18-25 and 50.1 % of adults 26-49 with serious mental illness did NOT receive treatment

- Stats From Mental Health America - https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health

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- Additional Resources -

1. 21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge

2. Talking about Race with Children

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- Where To Find Sarafina Online -

WEBSITE ▶ Www.LiveIntentionallySimplistic.Com
INSTAGRAM ▶ @intentional_simplicity_llc
FACEBOOK ▶ @intentionalsimplicityllc

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EPISODE 15: HOW TO HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS

EPISODE 15: HOW TO HAVE HARD CONVERSATIONS

* Please Note - Some links in this post may be affiliate links *

Hello Friends and welcome back to the Is That Soh Podcast!

For today’s episode, I thought I would do a little solo show and talk about one theme that I feel has been brought up time and time again throughout the first half of this season. They are situation that occurs in everyone’s life where tough topics need to be discussed and although we may hate to have discussions about them, they are a necessary part of life. So that is why I thought I’d devote today’s episode to developing a playbook oh how to make having them a little bit easier.

If you hate conflict and avoid it as much as possible, know that you are not alone. According to a Harvard Business Review, 67% of managers are uncomfortable talking to the people they manage - and that’s literally their job. However, it is important to understand that conflict avoidance robs you of your energy, power, and emotional freedom, and does not serve you in any way which is why learning how to get conformable having hard conversations is the only way to find relief from a stressful situation!

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did! Feel free to leave your thought below!

Also, special thanks to Mattias Friberg for composing the music for this podcast and perfecting my sound!

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- Episode Recap -

1. Learning to sit with yourself and comb through your thoughts - be honest with yourself and acknowledge the need for the conversations

2. Prep!

   • define your ideal outcome

   • rehearse with a friend

   • choose your language wisely

   • watch your body language

3. Set ground rules

   • allow each other time to speak while the other listens - no interrupting!

   • name calling, throwing objects, and swearing are off-limits

   • allow time out or the ability to initiate a pauses

4. Be okay with possibly being wrong - You may have misinterpreted the situation or have the wrong information and therefore things aren’t as black and white as you may have originally thought, and that’s okay.

5. Be honest and straightforward - use specific examples making sure to watch your tone and the words you use so you don't come off accusatory.

6. Acknowledge your responsibilities and avoidance in dealing with the conflict sooner

7. Be empathetic, listen and validate - this doesn’t mean you have to agree or change the point you are trying to make, it just makes them feel like they are an even playing field and are able to be heard too.

8. Make sure not to:

   • dominate the conversation

   • jump in to fill silence

   • interrupt when they are talking

9. If the conversation starts going sideways, reiterate the reason why you are having the conversation - to maintain mutual respect and problem solve so you can improve the relationship and both of your lives.

10. It’s okay to disappoint people

    • set boundaries if you need to

11. Stick to your target - as you near the end of the conversation restate your point and offer a possible solution

    • brainstorm steps together on how to achieve the solution

12. Ask questions to make sure they understood everything discussed

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- Episode Sources -

1. Harvard Business Review - Two Thirds Of Managers Are Uncomfortable Communicating with Employees

2. Forbes - How To Have Difficult Conversations At Work

3. Oprah - How to Have a Hard Conversation in 7 Steps

4. Psychology Today - How to Have Difficult Conversations

5. Fatherly.com - Why Cars Are The Best Place to Have Tough Conversations with Kids

6. Parenting Across the Gap: Raising Teens in the 21st Century - By Famlily Pyschologist Fred Peipman, Ph.D.

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